


Shot to the Heart

by seraphic_gate



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Frenemies, Injury, M/M, Sparring, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-04-17 16:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14192733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphic_gate/pseuds/seraphic_gate
Summary: Innes accidentally almost kills Ephraim, but it’s not really his fault.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya, my fandom Twitter is @shippy_things !

The moon was full except for a missing sliver over the training grounds of Frelia castle. Circled in empty arena seating and dotted here and there by a training dummy or a target, the grounds echoed with the sound of arrows whizzing through the air and metal striking dirt.

The chill night air stung his lungs as Innes vaulted backwards to avoid Ephraim’s lance, parrying as he gained some distance with three shots of his bow before he could pull it out of the ground. But Ephraim was faster today, something about him. Maybe the night air had him more alert, or maybe it was the focus granted by this empty arena. No one cheering for their prince here. He pulled up his lance and deflected Innes’s arrows with the shaft one by one.

Innes scoffed. “Stop showing off.”

“Make me.” His grin was infuriating.

And so their usual dance began again of Innes trying to divert Ephraim’s attention and find an opening, and Ephraim wearing Innes down until he was too slow to evade him any longer. 

Their retainers had scolded them over and over since the two were old enough to point their weapons at each other, that a lance and a bow weren’t a matchup anyone should care to fight over. Innes could have easily taken up a sword or any other weapon meant for properly melee sparring, he had the strength for it. Or Ephraim could throw javelins to match him for targeting points, but they were both too stubborn to adjust the rules of their conflict at this point. The spear was Ephraim’s best, and the bow was Innes’s. They wouldn’t face each other any other way.

“You’re breathing hard there,” Ephraim saide, spinning his lance around himself just to taunt him more. Innes knew his tactics, too. “Sure you don’t want to call it off? There’s no one watching.”

“It would be rude to summon my guest out here and throw in the towel before he’s been properly entertained.”

“Yet you keep begging me to join you.”

Innes was breathing hard on purpose. He had to keep trying new ways of throwing Ephraim off or he’d never catch him. 

What he’d done is trained extensively not just for his aim or the strength of his arms, but for endurance. He was far from worn out, but if Ephraim could be fooled into thinking so, then it could be his saving grace.

He readied himself again, signaling Ephraim to attack. 

“Want me to come to you?” Ephraim laughed. “Sure! Either way, it’s always the same!”

With that, he sped towards Innes with his weapon poised to strike. The edge of the practice spear was dull, but Innes had been knocked with it enough times to know how much it would hurt if he let it connect. He had long learned to stop his body from tensing in response to the threat of pain. The shame of losing yet again would hurt more.

First he jumped farther than Ephraim would have expected in his “exhausted” state, and from the look on his face, the ploy had succeeded. Ephraim had aimed low, his spear found nothing but air. His face lit up with frustration and excitement in equal measure.

That’s what set him apart from Innes’s other rivals. Ephraim was thrilled by adversity.

Aiming for Ephraim’s hands was folly. He would know that was Innes’s first target when it came to any attempt to disarm him. Innes looked at Ephraim’s hands as if to aim for them, but shot his arrow instead at his chest, where it would hit the mail beneath his tunic hard and cause a distraction, maybe wind him if he was lucky. Then Innes would move to disarm him and he’d find out if this tactic was viable or not.

But instead of hearing chunk as the arrowhead impacted Ephraim’s mail, he heard a familiar wet crunching sound and Ephraim’s pained grunt.

Ephraim dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. “I yield,” he croaked out, as Innes went running to him. In the dimly lit training grounds, Innes couldn’t see what exactly had happened.

He clutched the arrow at his chest and kept talking despite his obvious difficulty doing so. “If it was a real battle, I’d keep fighting. But we agreed it was to the blood, and I’ll honor those terms.”

“Ephraim, what in gods--” Innes knelt to help his friend stay upright, holding an arm around him. The arrow was sticking out of his chest dangerously close to his heart. “Why aren’t you wearing your mail, you blasted fool?”

“Well, that--” He coughed, and to Innes’ relief there wasn’t any blood coming up with it. “You’d been giving me some close calls lately, so I thought if I didn’t wear my armor I could move faster. That’s the only thing I could do to keep up with you.”

“Imbecile,” he growled. “I could have killed you!” Fortunately for Ephraim, and for Innes too, the practice bolt hadn’t dug deep enough to cause internal damage. 

“You use practice arrows anyway, right?”

“They aren’t _sharpened_ ,” he spat, half wishing he could kill Ephraim at this point. “But they’re still pointed and weighted or else they wouldn’t fly. That’s why you wear your armor, you dolt! You’ll have a cracked rib, at least.”

“Not the first and probably not the last,” Ephraim laughed, but hurt himself in the process and groaned. 

Innes sighed. “Is there no end to your idiocy?”

When Ephraim turned his head to look at him, he was smiling in a gentle way that contrasted the maniacal grin he always wore in their fights. “The point is, you won the match. How does it feel to finally best me?”

Innes was taken aback by his disarming smile. “A-as if I care, I can hardly regard it as a win, if it’s due to your poor wardrobe choice.”

“Right. I suppose that was lacking in foresight.” 

Innes laughed even as he leaned in close to inspect the wound. “You must be daft. Even if you stripped naked you’d never be faster than me.”

Ephraim’s face was suddenly very close, close enough that their noses brushed together. He thought it was an accident and that Ephraim was dizzy from his wound, but it didn’t stop happening. Then Ephraim’s mouth was against his, invitingly warm on a cold night. Ephraim’s gloved hand was against his cheek. He could feel heat through the leather. He smelled of dirt and fresh sweat.

He stayed there for a moment that lingered, processing. For the first time in his life, his mind was completely blank and he could not fathom what was happening. He pulled away.

“Ah,” Ephraim looked at Innes’s confused face and forced a pained laugh. “Is that not what’s going on right now?”

Innes was still silent, unable to form words.

“Sorry, sorry! It seems I have woefully misread the situation.” He shifted his weight and looked away. His face was turning red. “I’ll let you keep the win, but please, if you could avoid telling my sister about this. All of this, I mean… then uh--” 

Innes watched him fumble for words, which was better than he could do at that moment.

“Then what’s say we agree to never speak of this again?” Ephraim held his hand out to shake. “Good victory, I’ll see you next time I’m in Frelia.”

“Ephraim.” Innes left his hand hanging in the air and scowled. “You can’t just walk off and go back to Renais, you’ve got an arrow sticking out of you.”

“Well then, you can just drop me off at the hospital and I’ll be on my way.”

“Eirika and Tana will know about it if we do that. Besides, it’s hardly the main issue. You just tried to--”

“Ah-ah, I said let’s never speak of it again!”

“But you did just--”

“I have judged the situation in error, and that’s all that needs be said!”

“Ephraim.” It was becoming too vexing a chore to get anything out of Ephraim, so he decided to move on with finding some way of mending his stupid friend that wouldn’t get a rise out of their sisters or the community at large. “Please calm yourself. You need to keep your heart rate low of possible. Take some deep breaths.”

“But I…”

He hoisted Ephraim up by the shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist, taking care not to jostle the wound. “It would be preferable to me if you stopped talking for a while.”

“Very well.”

\- -

Innes dragged Ephraim back to his room, since it was closer than the guest’s wing, and there was less of a chance that he’d run into Eirika there. Eirika would kill both of them for sure. 

He’d seen Ephraim weather through much worse wounds than this, and didn’t need to put much of his weight onto Innes to move. It was likely his pride was wounded much more than his body, but Innes helped to support him nonetheless, as a fracture could worsen with stress.

Ephraim kept his word and stayed silent until Innes deposited him in his bed. He let out a grunt.

“Take those belts off.” 

Innes went into his study and returned with some tools and medical supplies. He sat next to Ephraim and lifted a pair of scissors.

“Did you bring me here to finish the job?” Ephraim’s voice was labored, like each breath was painful. 

“I’d choke you if I could.” He started at the hem of Ephraim’s tunic and began to cut his way up. “Best to leave the arrow in until I can stop the bleeding, so I hope this shirt’s not expensive.”

Ephraim didn’t have any quippy response to that, but just took a deep breath and released it slowly. 

Innes placed his hand against his chest to steady him. His skin was still warm from the heat of combat. “Stay still. The last thing you need is a knick from these.”

“Yes, right.”

Once the shirt was gone, Innes set the scissors aside and picked up a clean cloth damp with a sterilizing solution. “It’s not deep, and it’s a training piece after all, so it should come out clean.” 

“I’m ready.”

Innes pulled it out as quickly and evenly as possible, eliciting a muffled yelp out of Ephraim. The tip was dull and smooth, but nothing that got itself stuck in the flesh like that was going to come out painlessly. He padded the wound with the medicated cloth, then lifted Ephraim’s hand and pressed it down. “Hold it there, give it some pressure. You need a stitch or two. Don’t worry, I’ve done this before.”

Ephraim leaned against the headboard of the bed and held the cloth to himself as Innes went to prepare with needle and an astringent. “It should feel more luxurious being tended to by the prince of Frelia,” Ephraim said. “I can’t imagine many get the chance.”

“I do my part on the battlefield,” Innes responded, coldly. “Anyone who intends to do real fighting should learn the basics. You can’t always expect a cleric to jump into the fray.”

“I guess I’m too focused on my lance. I always--” He was cut off by a sharp wince as Innes dug the needle in. “Gods, can’t you be a little more gentle?”

Innes scowled. “No, I can’t.”

“Maybe I’ll learn it after this is over.”

“I hope you won’t be going much of anywhere for a few weeks with a cracked rib.”

Ephraim did his best to relax his body and allow Innes to finish the stitching without flinching. “I’ve really lost in more ways than one tonight,” he muttered. “Here I am half dressed in your bed and you aren’t even the least bit flushed.”

That managed to get a smile out of Innes. “And here I was going to pass it off as a side effect of your injury. Did you really think there was something romantic going on between us?”

“Not really, I just--” He braced himself as Innes tightened the thread. “We were fighting, and I felt close to you, and I didn’t think about it.”

Innes snipped the ends of the thread with the scissors and covered the mended wound with a bandage. He didn’t move from the edge of the bed. 

“No wonder you aren’t married,” he said.

Ephraim’s eyes widened. “No, I like women too, I really do.”

“Not that.” Innes groaned and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. “It’s rather that you are completely intolerable. Poor Eirika only manages because she’s weathered your nonsense since birth.”

“You’re doing a good job of it, if it helps.”

“It doesn’t.”

Ephraim shifted, obviously uncomfortable now. He looked out Innes’s window to avoid making eye contact with him. “I suppose my overconfidence isn’t limited to battle.”

Innes wasn’t certain of what to say, either. The way he sat, he was lightly touching Ephraim’s knee. It felt too informal, but strangely, he didn’t feel as if he’d be happy kicking Ephraim out of his bed, either.

“Just stay here a while,” he said, and gave Ephraim’s leg a pat. It was the most comforting gesture he could manage. Ephraim cringed at how forced it was. “Let the wound heal up as much as you can before you try to walk again.”

He stood and kicked his boots off into a corner of the room. Then he opened his wardrobe and pulled a soft shirt to throw to Ephraim. “Dress yourself, it’s cold.”

“Innes…”

“Cracked ribs put you at greater risk for pneumonia,” Innes explained, and sat down on the bed against the headboard next to Ephraim. “You must try to breathe normally even if it hurts a bit.”

“You want me to sleep here in your bed, after that?”

Innes huffed.“It’s not like I’m not going to let you do anything else that might increase your heart rate, it would be damaging to your health.”

Ephraim laughed bitterly at that and sank into the pillows, defeated. “You would say that.” He sighed. “If this happened in Renais, there would already be rumors.”

“Frelians don’t bother with such frivolity,” Innes said. “No one cares who you share your bed with, or what you do with them in it. Tana is only an exception because she’s nosy.”

“Must be nice.”

They sat there in silence for a moment, and Innes considered putting out the lanterns. But just as he was about to move, Ephraim spoke again.

“Innes. There’s something about me that nobody but Eirika knows.”

“And you want to tell me, too?”

“Yes. It’s been bothering me.”

“Fine, I suppose I’ll play both doctor and therapist tonight.”

Ephraim frowned at that, but continued on, staring distantly at the ceiling “I miss fighting. Of course I am glad for peace, but I don’t feel myself when I’m sitting on the throne. Even sparring with my men doesn’t feel the same.”

Innes had to stifle a laugh. “Do you think that’s a secret about you?”

Ephraim turned his head back to him, wide eyed. 

“Anyone who knows you as well as I do can clearly see how much you relish the fight.” He shook his head in dismay. “Honestly Ephraim, do you think we’re all oblivious to that grin on your face when you get the best of an opponent? Especially on the battlefield, where the stakes are real.”

“I suppose I’m more transparent than I thought.”

“At least to me.”

Ephraim groaned. “That’s why I enjoy it so much, fighting against you. I kept pushing harder and harder every time we fought, because I was afraid once you beat me, you’d stop begging me to fight you. I’d never feel that rush again, not unless another war broke out, and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I won’t stop because I’ve beaten you once,” Innes said. He rose to his feet to snuff the lights in his room, all except the on on the nightstand by the bed. This one he lowered until it was dim. That way he could keep an eye on Ephraim to make sure he was resting as he should be. “I won’t have truly bested you until I even the score.”

 

\- -

Eirika wasn’t easy to fool, and Innes was quite sure they hadn’t managed to. But perhaps she understood her brother’s needs and had decided to turn a blind eye to his injury. And Tana was oblivious, at least.

It was a week later when Ephraim and Eirika were set to return to Renais, and Innes had arranged a comfortable carriage to take them back. 

He spotted Ephraim patting the side of his usual horse longingly, knowing he couldn’t ride her, and smiled.

Ephraim turned his head. “Must you tease me?”

“I was not,” Innes said. 

“Your smile is full of wickedness.”

It wasn’t untrue. “I brought you a gift. Or a punishment. Perhaps both.”

Ephraim sighed a heavy breath, then coughed.

“Don’t sigh so hard, you’ll hurt yourself.”

He glared back. “Spit it out or I’m leaving.”

Innes stepped close to him, drawing the gift from his cloak. It was an emblem of Frelia cast in silver. He pulled Ephraim closer by the clutch of his cape and pinned it to him. “Wear this until you are well enough to best me in a duel again.”

“Will you wear something I choose if I do?”

Innes smiles wryly. “Sure, but just remember that I’ll be training all the while that you’re on bed rest. Wear your armor next time.”

He expected some retort, but Ephraim gave him the same grin he always did, and bowed as gracefully as he could with a fractured rib. “I accept my defeat, and I look forward to our rematch.”

“Well.” Innes searched for anything to say. “Until then.”

He watched the royal carriage depart for Renais, and remained there long after it was out of sight. It wasn’t until Tana asked him what he was doing that he realized he’d been thinking about Ephraim’s infuriating smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Two months passed and Ephraim had healed, but kept the emblem of Frelia pinned to his chest. He took a strange comfort in it as a familiar part of his attire. The rest of it was stored away as more and more he was expected to wear a king’s robe instead of the tunic that fit so comfortably over his mail, and a King’s mantle instead of his weathered cape.

At least Eirika’s presence beside him would always be familiar. He was grateful for that as they took their seats in a balcony that rose above the crowds.

“What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy today, after all your hard work.”

He turned his head, still amazed at how well she was adapting to her role as the queen of this nation in all but title. Ephraim’s future wife would technically be the queen of Renais, but Eirika would always have the authority as such. She seemed much more suited, as regal as she looked in her gown today, while he still felt as if he was playing dress up.

“Do I appear unhappy? I’m sorry. I should try to at least seem more excited, for the people’s sake. They deserve this, after all their hardships.”

From their balcony seating, he could see hundreds of people gathering around the arena. This was momentous occasion, restarting their tradition of the annual tournament after a year’s hiatus due to the restoration effort.

The building had been reconstructed from burned remains, and expanded with rising seats to fit as many of the populace as could be managed. He made sure that in their royal balcony that Eirika’s chair was just as tall as his, and was quite pleased at the artisans’ labor. They’d embellished his with the sun and hers with the moon. 

To the left and right were more chairs, meant for his royal friends: Tana and Innes, L’arachel, Joshua, and delegates from Grado and Carcino. The point being to bring them all together for a bit of frivolity on a regular basis, and promote peace between them.

“You’re just unhappy that you can’t compete.”

He laughed bitterly at himself and shrugged his shoulders. “You’re right. I’m jealous of them all.”

Eirika hummed. “At least you’ll get to see everyone. Cormag and Amelia came all the way from their new posts to compete. I believe that L’arachel’s entourage is here as well.”

“I’m sure they’re all back in the barracks making bets and having a grand time.” 

Eirika gave him a knowing smile. “I know you wish you could be with them. I’m proud of you for the responsibility you’ve shown.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t do it without you here.”

He leaned his chin against his palm and elbow on the arm of his chair with a big sigh. As a prince, he knew that he had never been peers with his knights, not even in the rush of battle. He always was their lord. But since his crowning, it felt like he’d been elevated so high that his friends couldn’t even see eye to eye with him anymore. 

He missed the way they used to joke around the fire between battles to relieve the tensions they all faced together.

And Lyon was gone.

A familiar deep voice shook him out of his melancholy. “Heavy is the burden of the crown, eh?” Innes laughed as he and Tana joined them on the balcony. “Do try to liven up, Ephraim.”

The siblings from Frelia were both wearing pure white garments as if dressed up for a wedding. Tana’s dress had a corset cut to compliment her shapely figure. She wouldn’t be mistaken for a young girl in that, for certain. Meanwhile, Innes was wearing a high waisted tailcoat and a sash over some very well fitted suit. As if Ephraim needed more torture on this day, of course they had to each be as beautiful as the other.

Innes sat down next to Ephraim while Tana crossed his way to sit next to Eirika. “Innes, you’re just teasing because Ephraim is already wearing a crown and you’re not.”

It wasn’t that.

As children, their friendship had never been as sweet and precious as his relationship with Lyon had been. They butted heads like they hated each other, but kept coming back for more, even back then. They used to tease each other, betting and swearing to each other that they’d be king _first_.

Back then, they were oblivious of the fact that in order to ascend, their parents first had to die. Innes had been nothing but respectful at his coronation. They hadn’t even had a spar.

Tana continued to tease. “Or maybe he’s just jealous of how handsome Ephraim looks with his hair pushed back.”

Eirika giggled behind her hand. “Do you think so? Ephraim hates his hair that way.”

He did.

The girls began to talk amongst themselves as they always had. Tana’s name was being thrown about as a potential wife for Ephraim, and he did like the idea of tying bonds to their closest ally, Frelia, with blood. And she was sweet, and good with a lance, too. Ephraim liked a woman who could hold her own in a fight. And she was Eirika’s best friend. He was sure they’d make a fine couple if it would serve their nations mutually. 

But lately the thought made him a bit sick, wondering how he could ever explain he’d kissed her brother.

Innes on the other hand was just confusing, always pushing through anyone else around them like he needed to be closest to him, but only to be combative. Although, maybe Ephraim was the strange one, since he wouldn’t prefer it any other way.

“I’ve kept our wager,” he said, keeping his voice down and tapping the emblem of Frelia pinned prominently on his mantle. “And I’ve told everyone you won.”

He huffed. “Once. I’ve won once, and due to technicality.”

“Not enough? I’m ready for more whenever you are.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Tana and Eirika’s chatter went silent and they glared at the two of them. Tana shook her fist as if she would jump across Eirika and Ephraim’s lap and punch Innes in the face. “You two better not be planning to run off and fight each other again!”

Eirika sighed. “Seriously Ephraim, when I was just complimenting your responsibility?”

“We weren’t talking about anything like that,” Ephraim lied. “I’m a king now, I can’t be brutalizing visitors to the nation in the public eye.”

“Brutalizing? Who won the last time?”

Eirika scowled and crossed her arms. “I ought to put royal escorts on both of you.”

Although he was the king, he was sure that Eirika could find the authority to do that somewhere, and silenced himself. 

L’arachel entered, dressed modestly as usual. She greeted everyone and took her seat on the side with the other girls. They became so wrapped up in their own chit chat that Ephraim and Innes were left forgotten.

“How is that wound?” Innes asked. A shade of honest concern had crept into his voice.

And of course, Ephraim’s first reaction to any gentleness in Innes was to mock it. “Worried about me? I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“I wish you’d at least write me to let me know.”

Ephraim stared back at him blankly. He had no idea that his injury had been weighing on Innes’s mind, and suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

“It’s healed up,” he said. “There’s a small scar, but it’s nothing.” 

Innes still seemed pensive, looking out over the arena as the first match finally began.

 

—-

The fights for the day concluded around sunset. Ephraim and the other royals headed to a private gathering to eat.

Entering the room, he saw all of his old friends who were waiting for them. Contestants from the tournament like Amelia and Cormag waved to him, as well as his group of knights including Seth, Forde, and Franz. But there were more that he hadn’t even known were visiting, like Natasha and Knoll. Nearly the entire band was together again.

“Surprise!” Eirika and Tana shouted together. They were both grinning ear to ear. 

Ephraim was dumbfounded. He’d hardly expected to ever see some of these people again. “You did this for me?”

“Eirika says you’ve been so glum!” Tana particularly seemed pleased with herself. “So she and I arranged to get everyone together.”

Eirika patted him on the arm. “It’s just us tonight, so you can be yourself.”

Ephraim cleared his head and smiled in the most honest way he had in months. “Thank you, Eirika. And thank you, everyone, for coming!”

There was a cheer and then the festivities began. The food and wine came out on trays and in pitchers. Ephraim had been eating fine little meals for too long. His mouth began to water at the sight of plain old gravy stew.

Innes shook his head, but he was smiling. “So this is what you were up to, Tana. I knew you were doing something.”

“Well that’s impressive,” Ephraim said. “So even the great strategician of Frelia had no idea?”

Tana giggled. “Well, we couldn’t let _him_ know or he’d want to be in control of everything.”

“If I’d have known, I would have brought a gift.”

Eirika rolled her eyes. Ephraim was constantly reminded that she could see through most people’s nonsense, not just his own. “Just to try and outdo Ephraim, I’m sure.”

Innes looked actually wounded for a moment, but had no immediate response to that. 

Just as Tana was being considered for him, he knew that the Frelian courts must have also suggested the idea to Innes that he should marry Eirika. Maybe that’s why Innes always seemed a bit more off guard with her, but Ephraim really _really_ didn’t want to think about his sister marrying a man he was also attracted to, especially in the strange and awkward way that he was with Innes.

His thoughts were thankfully interrupted as Forde approached and threw an arm over his shoulder. He thrust an uncorked bottle of wine into Ephraim’s hands. “Drink, drink! We all want to drink with the King of Renais!”

“Okay, okay!” He took the bottle. “But if it’s just us here, then you have to call me Ephraim.”

\- - 

Hours later, the ladies for the most part were gathered on one side of the room. Ephraim marveled how they could have so much wine and still keep up with such varied topics, from matters of state to popular fashion—particularly the new style that Innes and Tana were wearing. It seemed they could do it all night.

The men were split into two camps at this point: those who’d partied themselves into a stupor, and those who were getting bored of everyone else being in a stupor. 

He was somewhere between those two. He hadn’t touched the hard spirits that Garcia had broke out, but he had drank his fair share of the wine.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he found himself lost between two emotions in the extreme. He was here in a room with his friends, free to be a normal person for a moment, just as he had been wanting for such a long time. He had prevented himself from making these sort of attachments for most of his life. There was a warmth and familiarity in this room he never wanted to let go of. 

But the presence of everyone else made it more apparent who was not there. Lyon, Myrrh, his father. He found himself thinking of what they’d be doing right now and how they’d fit into this strange family reunion.

“Too much,” Innes said, and took the bottle. “It’ll be an embarrassment if the king has a hangover tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you have a little,” he groaned. “Loosen up for once.”

Innes put the bottle aside. “It won’t be a fair match if you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk, only a little relaxed. I’m ready to go whenever you are.” He grabbed a leftover piece of bread and shoved it in his mouth. “So let’s go.”

Innes flicked a piece of projectile bread from his shoulder. “For gods’ sakes, eat with your mouth shut.”

After a few bites of bread and a glass of water, Ephraim wiped his mouth and stood. He pulled at Innes’s arm. “Let’s go before they catch us.”

Innes’s face showed annoyance, but he stayed quiet to avoid being caught. They slipped out the door before anyone could notice that they were gone.

\- -

There were workers and guards milling around the arena, keeping it clean between shows and watching for trespassers. 

“We can’t fight here without drawing a crowd,” Innes said. “Any ideas?”

“Yes. Let’s just grab some weapons and we can go. I know a spot.”

“Don’t forget your armor this time.”

“Yes, mother.”

Innes grabbed his cape from behind, almost causing him to trip, and whispered, somehow in a shouting kind of tone, “I mean it, Ephraim!”

\- -

Ephraim led Innes out of the castle and into the fields. There was one grassy slope where he and Eirika used to go to play when they were little. It was close enough so that their caretakers wouldn’t worry, but line of sight from the castle was obscured just enough to afford them some privacy.

By the time they got there, he had sobered up. Between finding weaponry and getting out there, it was already well after midnight.

He looked back to see how Innes fared. “Are you going to be all right in that fancy suit?”

Innes removed the sash and the waistcoat. It still seemed too tight to fight in, although he couldn’t find fault in how it looked on him.

Innes stretched to demonstrate the freedom of movement he had. “This was made by the best tailors in Frelia—the best tailors in the world, of course. It’s the height of modern fashion and functional as well.”

“Sure.” Ephraim found that unwavering pride that Innes had in every facet of his culture endearing, almost innocent. It always made him smile.

Innes checked the tip of his arrows to make sure they were dull.

“For gods’ sakes, I’ve got my armor on.” He was wearing some random breastplate he had found in the barracks, if only to ease Innes’s conscience. “Stop fussing.”

“Very well then. Call it when you’re ready.”

He smirked at that. Loser calls the next round, that was the rule. He’d never lost to Innes before, so he’d never called before. “Ready? Go!”

\- -

They fought, and although the match was as exhilarating as it always had been, the outcome was not nearly as interesting as their last fight. Innes hadn’t had time to come up with a new feint, or maybe he had, but Ephraim hadn’t fallen for it this time. Once Innes was kneeling and sulking in his loss, the details were a blur to him.

He chuckled in his victory and loosened his armor. It fell to the ground.

He let himself drop back into the grass, arms outstretched. Maybe he was still feeling the wine, because it seemed his body could sink into the ground there just as easily as into a feather mattress. 

“Well,” Innes huffed. “I didn’t expect to win again so soon, but that was almost too easy for you.” He sat down next to Ephraim. 

Ephraim was too comfortable sprawled out on his back to sit up and face him. “Next time, let’s swap weapons, and just see what happens.”

“Pfft.” Innes flicked a piece of stray hair over his shoulder. Even when he lost, his hair stayed almost untouched somehow. Probably the way he moved, so conscious of himself that not even a strange came out of place. “It can’t be too hard to use a lance if Tana can do it.”

“Give Tana more credit, she’s an excellent knight.”

Innes smiled then, betraying his thoughts. “She’s the more popular of the two of us, at any rate.”

Because Ephraim refused to sit up, Innes places a hand flat beside him and leaned over. He plucked the emblem of Frelia from Ephraim’s mantle. “Well, you’ve won.”

“And now you have to wear something of mine, right?” 

“That seems to be the agreement.”

Ephraim thought for a moment, then finally rose i to a sitting position from the soft grass as, nice as it was. 

He placed his hands carefully on either side of his head and lifted the crown of Renais. His hair fell back into its usual mess.

Innes looked back at him, beyond perplexed, as he set it in place on him. His father had never liked wearing it either. He shared Ephraim’s distaste for gaudy things. But against Innes’s flaxen hair and noble features, it seemed to fit. 

Innes’s mouth curled into a frown. “What is this about?”

“You can wear that for me for a while,”  
Ephraim laughed. “And I’ll just go do whatever.”

“As if you would.”

“You never know.”

Innes touched the crown on his head with careful reverence, pushing it into a comfortable spot. “So now I’m the king of Renais? Seems like I won, if you look at it that way.”

“You can run both countries. Eirika does most of the work anyway.” 

“Okay, I’ll play your game, then.” Innes sighed. “So now that you’re no longer the king of Renais, what do you want to do, Ephraim?”

It did take him a moment to think about it. What he wanted right in that moment was something very simple.

He laid down again and plopped his head into Innes’s lap, using his thigh as a pillow. 

Innes groaned in annoyance. “What are you doing?”

“I used to sleep on Eirika’s lap, but I had to stop. They told me it wasn’t appropriate of a future king. So that’s what I want to do, just sleep on somebody’s lap.”

“I think it’s inappropriate of anyone,” he sighed. “There are implications to what you are doing, you know.”

Ephraim was surprised at how comfortable he was. Innes was slender, but had firm muscle  
all over. He smelled of fresh sweat and whatever linen his fancy suit was made of. “I don’t really care.”

“You need it adjusted.”

His breath hitched as he felt fingers graze over his forehead. Innes’s hands were graceful, but nonetheless marred by callouses where he pulled his bowstrings. 

“You’ve got a big red mark across your forehead, it’s disgraceful.”

Ephraim closed his eyes and tried to hold onto the shiver that ran through him as Innes drew his hand across his face and wove his fingers into his hair. “So you’ve never been like this with someone?”

Innes scoffed. “I had a dog once.”

He chuckled, imagining the dog as surprised as he was that Innes would actually pet him. “So you’ve never, um…. you know. Slept with someone?”

“That’s not what you asked me about.”

“How is it not?”

“Sex is just the fulfillment of the body’s physical needs,” he said. “A king could find that anywhere. A simple gesture of affection is much more difficult to come by, as you know.”

“I know.” 

Maybe he wasn’t as sober as he thought he was, or maybe Innes’s touch was having that effect on him. He wanted to go to sleep right there, with his cape for a blanket and Innes’s thigh for a pillow.

However long he stayed there, it wasn’t long enough. The hand drew away from his hair.

“A good joke, Ephraim, but we can’t be missed when morning comes.”

He felt the rough edges of the crown and Innes lowered it back onto his head.

He sat up and groaned, tilting it back and forth on his head, never quite able to find a spot where it felt comfortable. 

He stood, and Innes soon joined him, smudging grass stains off his beautiful suit as well as he could. 

The armor felt heavier now that he knew he had to carry it back. “We’ll have another spar sometime soon,” he said, promising himself. And, maybe he’d have another chance to see everyone again someday, too.

But there was still the matter that Innes didn’t have any form of punishment.

“Instead of the crown. How about…” He looked about himself for anything he could lend to Innes, but he wasn’t much for trinkets. 

While bending over to retrieve his spear, he spotted a wild daisy. “That will do nicely,” he said, and plucked the flower.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“If I’d have thought about it in advance, I’d have picked something more kingly.”

Ephraim slipped the stem of the flower through the buttonhole on his jacket pocket, with Innes scowling at him all the while.

—-

The tournament concluded, winners were named, and it was up to Ephraim to shake their hands and hang medals around their necks. He was better at this than he would give himself credit. He had an honest smile and a confident tone in his voice. People were drawn to him.

Innes remained with the others up in the balcony. The girls showed no sign of their indulgences last night, but Joshua was having a hell of a time in the bright sun this morning.

Tana and Eirika were chirping back and forth about something, intentionally out of his earshot, he could tell. Then there was giggling.

“What _is_ It?”

Tana smirked. “That’s a cute flower.”

Eirika hummed thoughtfully, playing dumb. “I think that sort grows around here.”

Engaging them would only encourage them on. He sighed and looked back down to the podium below. People were cheering and throwing flowers down to the winners, and their king. Many of them the same variety as the one he was stuck wearing. 

He’d much rather be wearing it in celebration of victory. Ephraim was going to pay for this humiliation the next time they met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I don’t know when I’ll update this again or if I’ll have to change the content rating eventually lol let’s just see what happens.


End file.
